Ex-Assam CM set to resign assembly seat

New Delhi: Himanta Biswa Sarma, who had recently quit Congress to join BJP announced on Saturday that he will soon be resigning from his state assembly seat.

“I will resign from my seat in the assembly in a day or two after returning to Assam,” Sarma told the media here after leading a group of 10 MLAs, including nine from the state’s ruling Congress, to meet Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah at his residence.

Sarma held the state’s health and education portfolios and quit his ministerial post in July last year after a major fallout with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Sarma was once seen as Gogoi’s blue-eyed boy.

Stating that the fall of the Gogoi-led Congress government was certain in next year’s assembly elections in the state, Sarma said: “We don’t want to defeat Gogoi by playing the game of numbers. Not MLAs but the people of Assam will bring about the downfall of the Gogoi government.”

He also referred to Gogoi’s remarks on Friday that it was difficult for the state government to fight the ongoing wave of devastating floods in Assam alone due to lack of funds.

“Since he is citing lack of funds as the reason for failing to fight the flood situation, then let there be a government that can have funds,” the former minister said.

Regarding Saturday’s meeting with Shah, Sarma said that since the BJP president expressed his desire to meet the 10 MLAs, he them brought along.

The BJP was on Tuesday set to return to power in its southern bastion Karnataka as its candidates crossed the half-way mark in vote count, stunning and ousting the ruling Congress and leaving the JD-S at the third spot.

Noisy celebrations broke out in party offices in Bengaluru, New Delhi and across Karnataka as Bharatiya Janata Party nominees were on the victory lap in 118 of the 222 constituencies which voted on Saturday.

This was a dramatic jump from the 40 seats the BJP won five years ago.

The Congress, desperate to retain power in the state amid shrinking appeal nationally, suffered major blows and was ahead only in 62 seats, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah trailing in both the constituencies he contested: Badami and Chamundeshwari.

The Congress leader was way behind G.T Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal-Secular in Chamundeshwari, Election Commission officials said. And after leading initially, Siddaramaiah fell behind B.R. Sriramulu of the BJP in Badami.

In contrast, the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa was ahead of his Congress rival by more than 11,000 votes in Shikaripura.

Energy Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar said that the numbers indicated that his party was on the way out after five years in power.

Any party or grouping will need 113 of the total 224 seats to secure a majority in the Assembly. Polling did not take place in two constituencies on Saturday.

The BJP was overjoyed. “We are in a jubilant mood because we have crossed the half-way mark. We are confident of winning,” spokesman S. Shantharam told IANS.

BJP activists and leaders celebrated noisily in both Bengaluru and New Delhi, waving party flags and shouting slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their main vote-getter, and party President Amit Shah.

There were also celebrations outside the residence of Yeddyurappa, who has been Chief Minister earlier too.

Karnataka Polls counting suggests big win for BJP, wikimedia commons

The Janata Dal-Secular of former Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda, which has been expected to play the role of a kingmaker in the event of a hung Assembly, was leading in 40 seats — the same number it won five years ago.

As the vote count progressed, BJP leaders became assertive, saying they were confident of taking power again in Karnataka while Congress leaders began to speak about the possibility of an alliance with the JD-S.

BJP leader and Union Minister Sadanand Gowda said that there was no question of any alliance.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who is in charge of Karnataka, met BJP President Amit Shah in New Delhi.

Analysts said the BJP was leading in Lingayat dominated seats and the JD-S in Vokkaliga dominated areas.

Expectations of a BJP victory in Karnataka lifted the key Indian equity indices during the mid-morning trade session on Tuesday.